How should we lead the church?

In this Pneuma Review conversation, Pastor-scholar Tony Richie discusses what having good leadership means for a local church

Introduction

“We’re a good church, but we need a good leader!” The preceding sentence expressed the sentiment of the good people of the John Sevier Church of God in Knoxville, Tennessee, during our interview for the pastorate (December 1997). These words also resonated with my own experience a few years prior when had I entered the Doctor of Ministry program at Asbury Theological Seminary. My Bachelor of Arts degree had been in Philosophy-Religion, with a minor in Biblical Languages, and I had earned a Master of Divinity degree from the premier seminary of my denomination. As I surveyed the various emphases offered by Asbury, I realized that my training in theology, language, hermeneutics, homiletics, and counseling had not practically prepared me specifically for the role of pastoral leadership; nevertheless, as a pastor I was consistently called upon to function not only as a preacher or a counselor but as the leader of my congregation. Accordingly, contrary to my previous approach to education and yet with a deep sense of divine direction, I chose the leadership track for my studies at Asbury.

Tony Richie chairing a panel discussing ecumenism at the 2014 convention of the Society for Pentecostal Studies.

My experiences at John Sevier and Asbury have been echoed in my overall pastoral experience. I have been in the ministry for nearly thirty years, more than twenty-seven of which have been spent serving as a pastor. I have enjoyed relatively successful ministry in each pastorate, yet I have not infrequently felt an absence of confidence concerning my leadership duties and abilities. Slowly, I have come to suspect that the missing sense of certainty may be due, at least in part, to a failure to understand and apply a specific, sound theology of leadership for the pastoral setting, especially in my own ministry context as a Pentecostal Christian and churchman.¹

Discerning Practical Value

The almost incomparable worth of morally and practically competent leadership and the tragedy of evil or inept leadership is a consistent and recurring theme in Scripture. Further, an important element of the leadership challenge includes carefully defining leadership in local church settings.

Incomparable Worth of Competent Leadership

Throughout the biblical record the issue of leadership is noticeably prominent. Very early on the problem of corrupt leadership is latent. Hartley notes that Nimrod was the first empire builder.² An enigma to scholars, he appears to have been regarded in almost godlike terms.³ He was apparently a powerful leader. Nimrod’s rule was centered in the region of Shinar (Gen. 10:8-12). The account of the height of human arrogance and divine displeasure over the tower of Babel is set in Shinar, later known as Babylon (11:1-9). That this “famous city symbolizes commerce, human achievement, and the pursuit of pleasure” appears clear.⁴ The attitude of heaven toward haughty human leadership is underscored in the divine dispersion and division of the human race. Throughout the Scriptures Babylon is often encoded as the enemy of God and of God’s people (e.g., Rev. 17-18).

In complete contrast to the pride and pomp of Nimrod and Babylon stands the piety of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. A comparison of the patriarchal narrative of Scripture with ancient historical evidence strongly suggests the patriarchs lived in a dimorphic society consisting of pastoral nomads and village dwellers, probably early in the second millennium BC. The family units of the patriarchs were basically “autonomous tribal chiefdoms”.⁵ In the culture of the ancient Near East, “the patriarchs themselves were chiefs of seminomadic clans”.⁶ The patriarchs exercised definite leadership influence within the realm of their usually somewhat large family unit and its accompanying assortment of servants, friends, visitors, and, to some extent, neighboring peoples. For instance, Joseph’s timely leadership position and ability is of key import to Israel’s physical and national survival and divine destiny as the people of the Abrahamic covenant (Gen. 37, 39-50).

The Power of the Cross: The Biblical Place of Healing and Gift-Based Ministry in Proclaiming the Gospel

Understanding the Hebrew Scriptures and Hebrew culture is crucial to understanding how Jesus and the early church viewed sin, the demonic, and the fallen world they lived in.

Introduction

Christ’s death on the Cross atones for and cleanses us from all sin, and the atonement of the Cross provides the basis for God’s work to sanctify us and restore us from the brokenness which sin brought into our lives (Isa 53:4-6; Mk 10:45; Rom 3:22-25; 5:8-9; II Cor 5:21; Gal 3:13; Col 1:21-22; I Tim 2:6; Heb 2:14; 9:14, 26-28; 10:10; I Pet 1:18-21; 2:24; 3:18; I Jn 2:2; 3:5, 8). How is sin related to healing and wholeness in the Bible, and how is personal sin related to praying for someone’s healing as prescribed in James 5?

The problem with the human race is, according to Scripture, sin, and the problem with sin is that it has effects. What is more, the effects are not simply the immediate results of the sinful act, but also the long-term consequences of the act, sometimes affecting only the individual and at times engulfing the whole of the human race.¹ In this chapter we want to look at what parts of the human experience are traceable to sin, as well as examine the biblical solution to these consequences.

Sin and the Fruit of Sin in the Old Testament

The history of sin in the Old Testament begins with the introduction of sin in Genesis 3. The human beings (both the woman and the man, “who was with her,” Gen 3:6) desired to “be like God,” disobeyed and so sinned. The results are portrayed immediately: shame at their nakedness (3:7; perhaps shame is a symbol for their vulnerability); fear of the presence of God (3:8); disorder in the natural world (3:14,17); disruption of human relationships (3:16); disturbance of the generative process (3:16);² loss of sovereignty (3:15;18); and death (3:19).

The flood narrative itself indicates the pervasiveness of sin. At both ends of the narrative the writer declares that “every thought (or, thing formed in the thought) of a human being was only evil from youth.” (Gen 6:6; cf. 8:21) While on the one end of the narrative this inner evil is the reason for the destruction of the created order, a return to watery chaos, from which only Noah and his family are saved, on the other, it results in a type of resigned understanding on the part of God. Yet the next chapter places some limitations on violence in that, unlike the penalty exacted on Cain, now murderers will be executed. Law, then, becomes a result of sin.⁴

The rest of the Old Testament amplifies these positions about the results of sin. That sin can lead to judgment and death is almost cliché in terms of the Old Testament. The cycle of sin and oppression (which included death in battle and death through the oppression) is the theme of Judges. The prophets are concerned about impending judgment which they speak about in terms of various forms of death (sword, plague, etc.).

Sin Can Lead to Broken Relationships and Poverty

Another mark of sin seen in all of these narratives is the destruction of the social fabric of the people. One sees this graphically in the case of Lot in Gen. 19. On the one hand, the sin of Sodom (lack of hospitality to the extent of the abuse of foreigners) leads to the destruction of the city, for it confirms the “outcry against Sodom” (Gen 18:20 NIV) and thus seals its doom, especially since every man in Sodom is involved and Lot has only four people with him (thus less than the ten righteous needed to save the city). On the other hand, the narrative ends with incest by Lot’s daughters because society as they knew it was gone. Here is a destroyed social fabric to the extent that the incest taboo is broken. The author of Genesis appears to contrast this fate with that of Abraham. Lot may have been righteous, but he is not as righteous as Abraham.

The Power of the Cross: The Biblical Place of Healing and Gift-Based Ministry in Proclaiming the Gospel

Old Testament Foundations: Signs, Wonders and the People, by Jeffrey J. Niehaus

When the Son of God came to earth he brought what the Bible metaphorically calls the “water” of the Holy Spirit, who had been poured out on him without measure. The Son’s first advent was foretold by the prophet Isaiah, who foresaw the result of Christ’s ministry. He said it would be a time when “the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field” (Isa. 32:15). Isaiah was a great poet as well as a prophet, and he spoke powerfully of the Messiah’s life and work. What he said has come to pass, and both he and the other Old Testament prophets have much to teach us, not only about God and his Christ, but also about prophetic ministry—a kingdom ministry of “signs and wonders”—both in the past and today.

Signs and Wonders—Moses and Jesus

We know from the Old Testament that God did signs and wonders to advance his kingdom. The phrase, “signs and wonders,” first occurs in the Bible to describe the plagues which God, through his prophet Moses, brought upon Egypt (Exo. 7:3). But the miracles of God in the Old Testament are not only destructive. God also parted the Red Sea and held up the waters of the Jordan River and brought his people safely across both. Such miracles were part of his plan of salvation for Israel.

The ministries of Jesus and Moses have important things in common. Both were covenant mediators: Moses mediated the old covenant; Jesus mediated the new. Both Moses (Deut. 34:10) and Jesus (Acts 3:22) were prophets. And both did signs and wonders which were part of the advance of God’s kingdom—his program of salvation for his people.

Messianic Foundations
Artwork by Steve Grier © 1997 RBC Ministries. Used by permission.

This being the first installment on Messianic Foundations, it seemed prudent to first ask the question, “Why?” Why study the Scriptures from a Messianic perspective, or more appropriately, from a Messianic Jewish perspective?

A lengthy dissertation could ensue on the theological reasons and potential benefits to be derived. But rather than get bogged down in those details, let’s keep it simple. The Bible is not nearly as complex as man often makes it out to be. Instead, let’s take a look at the euphemism, “To know where you’re going, you must first know where you’ve been.” Hindsight it is said, is always 20/20, but this is true only if you stop long enough to take an introspective look into the past. It is by design of the Almighty that the word “remember,” appears 31 times in the first five books of the Bible. Twenty-one other times we are commanded to “make a memorial.” Without constant repetition and review of biblical principles and history, we forget.

Galatians 3:29 states that believers who are not Jewish-born are adopted children of Abraham, “heirs according to promise.” Obviously, the lion’s share of that inheritance is our justification through faith in Jesus. Yet an inheritance often encompasses so much more—the passing on of a legacy. Unfortunately, ask many Christians today what the full blessing of the legacy of Abraham is, and you would probably witness a set of shrugged shoulders.

In many ways, we have become like the prodigal son. We have left our Abrahamic legacy to pursue other matters, but with unrelenting hope, our Father vigilantly watches the horizon waiting for our return to His inheritance. Not in some legalistic fashion, to take up the yoke of a works-oriented faith, but rather to understand the fullness of what has been preserved for us, and to reclaim it as our birthright.

God does nothing in a vacuum. Everything came out of something. This is true throughout the Word of God, from Genesis through Revelation. In the beginning, the Spirit of God hovered over the waters and light was created. Every step of creation grew out of the one before it. Even man, created out of the dust of the earth, had a pre-existent form or quality. Likewise Eve, was formed—not out of thin air—but out of Adam. There is always some element in place that God works through, whether creating the earth or feeding the multitudes with fishes and loaves. It is likewise true in our Spiritual life. We had a being before coming to Christ, and now we are a new creation—formed out of the old one.